notes from the kelp

…click to listen:

…about the music

Through the archipelago.

Tweet

These simple photos from a little July 4 jaunt from San Juan to neighboring Lopez Island, tell the whole story.

It was very calm.

Awoke at home to a pod of orcas just past the deck.
Headed down to the dock.
Loaded the sailboat (quite similar to the one in the above photo) with getaway supplies:
dinghy (in case a getaway was needed),
freshly grown salad greens,
wild salmon for the boat grill,
red wine,
and Swiss chocolates that came from a real live Swiss friend who visited last week.
Oh, and good coffee for the morning, too.

Looking west to the Olympics, while sailing south.

It was very calm.

We glided across the water, sometimes at 4 knots
and more often at less than 1.
More time to talk to the passing seals or birds.
I’ve always been a stop and smell the kelp kind of sailor.
And, apparently, a protégé of Dr. Doolittle.

The dinghy followed like a cute puppy.

It was very calm.

And as twilight arrived,
it was
even
calmer.

Anchored with plenty of room at Fisherman’s Bay, as seen from a galley port.

Until it wasn’t.
When all that calm
was interrupted with colorful
noise
reflected brilliantly in the water.

And the next morning?
It was even calmer.

Looking east toward Shaw and Orcas islands.

So calm, in fact, that we had to do what sailors
hate
to do.
We turned on the engine.

We must have known there was a party waiting for us back at the house, and didn’t want to be late:

The scene was exactly as it had been left, with the ironic commentary of a little sailboat
replaced
by a little powerboat.

But only when it comes to photos. I am grateful for the whales, the sails,
and the very,
very
calm quiet of this island summer.